Reaching
the end of my interest in the Word Paintngs I had been doing for two years I remembered one-a-day
drawing books I kept from 1969 to 1974. After that period I still
kept sketch books & journals but the 1-a-days were unwavering,
one drawing a day,... brush my teeth, do my drawing (I kept a
1-page-a-day stream of consciousness writing journal for the
same years). I would usually just set the pen point down somewhere
on the paper, move it and see what happened,
where it went.

\

I dug
out the books and found endless painting material there. I liked
the fact
that these were to be paintings of drawings - not preparatory
drawing then painting, paintings OF drawings... drawings
were the subject. As with the word series; paintings of two dimensional
objects.
It provided a revitalized structure for my continuing
interest in impasto and smearing, scumbling, mixing effects.
No doubt the then current neo-expressionist movement encouraged
me in this.

There
are two distinct ways of painting during this time neatly demonstrated
by the front & back covers of the brochure accompanying a
1984-5 touring retrospective (see above right). The earlier paintings
are characterized by heavy impasto, gooey mixing (referred to
above), the later add scumbling to the equation producing a markedly
different feel. This way of painting continued as the subject
later shifted into other areas in 1985.

I was still living on savings from the near 4-year Cyclorama restoration project.
I did occasional drawings & odd jobs
but mostly focused on my art. I would enter competitive exhibitions
these years, getting in about half the time, paying a fee and for
shipping but filling the ol' resume. Cyndia entrepreneured a business
documenting construction projects photographically which I helped out
on. One of those was aerial, renting a helicopter once a month. We
decided to get pregnant in 1985. Knowing that was going to be a
commiment financially & time-wise,
that was as late as I could talk Cyndia into delaying it. She would be
mid-thirties, getting into that danger zone. I had assumed i'd not have
children, never own a house etc; due to my "career" choice. Cyndia
showed me otherwise.